WANTED: Bigfoot hair samples

LONDON (AP) -- European researchers say new techniques to analyze DNA could help crack the mystery of whether Bigfoot exists.

In a project announced this week, Oxford University and Lausanne Museum of Zoology scientists appealed to museums, scientists and yeti aficionados to share samples thought to be from the mythical ape-like creature. Researchers plan to focus on hair to determine the species it originated from.

Bryan Sykes of Oxford University said the group had already received samples to test, including blood, hair, and items supposedly chewed by Bigfoot. He said evidence already exists of interbreeding between homo sapiens and Neanderthals, which could have played a role in the yeti's origins.

Sykes acknowledged that the chances of proving a new yeti species' existence was low, but "if we don't look, we'll never find out."